How long have you worked within the industry? Tell us a bit about your background…

D: I have 19 years’ experience within construction and engineering recruitment, initially starting out as a Trainee Recruiter with BBT, moving on to a Consultant at FTR Associates, then spending nine years with NES Global Talent.

I am passionate about the industry and moved through the ranks from Consultant to Senior Consultant, then on to Office Manager, then finally to Associate Director for the North East and Yorkshire before setting up my own business, DKM Recruitment.

After four years on my own, I knew it was time to grow, which is why I made the decision to merge my business and my employees with Solutions Recruitment.

Here I manage driving, catering, construction and some parts of the engineering business sector at head office, as well as managing all UK construction recruitment operations across Solutions and its sister brands.

Have there been any changes which have affected work in the construction industry?

D: Due to a difficult period within the construction sector from approximately 2009 – 2011, many skilled tradesmen left the industry to retrain in other sectors.

However, over the last few years demand across the industry has steadily increased and we are now finding a major shortage of skilled construction workers for our client sites.

Due to this, more businesses are taking on contractors as opposed to permanent staff, but this means higher salaries.

Are there any changes in legislation that employers or employees should be aware of?

D: While there have not been any recent changes in legislation, our clients have become far more health and safety focused over the past few years.

Any contractor we place onsite must always have the correct personal protective equipment (PPE), qualifications and the correct health and safety cards which are relevant to their specific discipline. These are all held on contractor records on our database.

Do you have any advice for those looking for work in this industry?

D: The vast majority of organisations will not accept any workers who are not professionally qualified, skilled tradesmen.

Therefore, should anyone be interested in becoming a plasterer, joiner, bricklayer etc. it is imperative that they enrol onto a college course to complete relevant NVQs, which will then enable then to gain Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) cards.

What about advice for employers looking for candidates?

D: There is a major shortage of skilled tradesmen and the construction industry is getting busier by the day, particularly in locations such as London, the North East and the West Midlands.

We would, therefore, recommend that organisations partner with a recruitment agency in order to gain access to a wider range of candidates with the relevant skills for their job requirements.

We are committed to finding skilled tradespeople for our clients’ businesses and also supporting those wishing to gain employment in the industry.

How can Solutions Recruitment support these employers?

D: At Solutions, we work across the full construction project life cycle. From the design process, civil engineering, build, internal packages, externals, roofing and finishing, and have an extensive database of experienced tradespeople who work within any of these areas across the UK.

If you would like to find out more, you can contact Dale and his team by calling 0191 221 0402 or via email at dale@solrecruit.co.uk.